Patriots hold on (01/25/08)

The home fans have become accustomed to witnessing victories. In their final home appearance of the year, the Patriots did not disappoint.

Jay County High School's girls basketball team took control with an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter and fought off the visiting Anderson Indians 52-50.

"It was another game where we got contributions from a lot of different people," said JCHS coach Kirk Comer, whose team closed with nine straight home victories after a 62-58 loss to Class 4A No. 5 Fort Wayne South Side in the season opener. "Cara Garringer tonight stepped up and did the things that we knew she could do ... It was just another team effort ... It was another night where everybody did their little part."

The Patriots led for much of the game, but saw their lead slip to just two points when Bryesha McCullough buried a triple with just over a minute to go. Kaelee Keller hit a pair of free throws for Jay County on the ensuing possession, and Lindsey Wellman came up with a steal on the ensuing possession.

Anderson still had chances thanks to the Patriots missing three of their final four attempts from the foul line, but could not cash in until Lakeisha Noethtich drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

Garringer was a huge key to putting JCHS in control during the final minutes.

She scored 11 points in the final 16:02 of the game, starting with a 3-pointer on the final possession of the first half. Anderson opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take a 25-24 lead, and Garringer hit the hoop to end the streak.

The freshman added a three-point play and another free throw in the final 3:50 of the third quarter as she and senior Cassandra Huelskamp combined for all 12 points to push back to a 36-31 lead. And when Highland closed to within 38-37 in the fourth quarter, it was Garringer who hit back-to-back hoops to score the first five points of the 8-0 run that put the home team back in control.

"We wanted to bring her along slow and make sure that we put in her in positions where she could succeed," said Comer of Garringer, who spent much of the season on the junior varsity squad. "You can't say enough about our seniors. ... you have sophomores on the team, and now a freshman, and they welcomed her with open arms. When you have a group of seniors like that that are willing to accept that, it sure makes things a lot easier."

Those seniors playing in their final home games are Huelskamp (seven points, four rebounds, one assist), Amber Edmundson (five points, four rebounds), Abby Loy (two points, four rebounds, one assist), Dana Horn (two rebounds, one assist) and Sharon Dirksen (one rebound).

They have helped lead the team to a 16-3 record, the best in the last decade.

Garringer finished with a team- and career-high 14 points. She shot 5-of-10 from the field, including two 3-pointers, on an evening when the rest of the squad hit for just 29 percent.

"We needed that," Comer said. "We thought we had mismatches, and some of the mismatches we thought we had, we weren't executing it. But when she went in there - we thought we were quicker than they were in the half-court - we went to a five-out offense trying to penetrate and kick. I thought she made real good reads on the defense and really did give us a spark."

Garringer's 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer followed two put-backs from Pazia Speed for a 7-0 run to a 24-15 lead. Jay County got another big play at the end of the third period when Huelskamp buried her second 3-pointer of the quarter with two seconds to go to push the Patriot advantage to five points.

"Those were two huge plays," said Comer. "Any time you can get a basket going into a break, it gives your team the momentum."

Wellman hit a pair of first-half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Speed had seven points and a team-best seven rebounds.

On the defensive end, the Patriots packed in their zone in an attempt to force Anderson - the Indians have four players who stand 6-feet-one-inch or taller - to beat them from the outside. With the exception of the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, that strategy suited them well.

McCullough and McGhee combine to average more than 28 points per game this season, but managed just 13 against JCHS.

Lakeisha Noethtich had game-highs of 19 points and three assists for the Indians. McCullough scored eight points, and Nellie Eskew had eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

"We wanted to pack it in, double down on the post," said Comer. "Their post player has got a really nice touch. If she gets the ball on the block she's probably going to make it.

"I thought defensively we did a really good job. There in the second half when they made their run we let the ball in the paint too much on dribble penetration."

Junior varsity

The Patriots dominated the first three quarters and cruised in with a 43-28 victory over the Indians.

Jay County rolled out to a 13-4 lead after the opening quarter and was ahead by 19 at halftime. They pushed to a 39-13 lead after three quarters before the Indians closed the gap in the final six minutes.

Brittany Muhlenkamp scored 11 points to lead the Patriots. Gina Muhlenkamp added seven points, and Jordan McMillan had six.

Anyssa Bryd's 14 points led all scorers for Anderson. Allana Johnson had seven points, and Ceidre McDonald totaled six.[[In-content Ad]]